1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to recording devices and related methods for reading magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) information.
2. Related Art
Devices for reading MICR information that is recorded in magnetic ink on recording media such as checks are known. Some of these devices improve recognition accuracy by combining the result of magnetically reading the MICR information with the result of optically reading the MICR information to identify the MICR information. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-H05-258100.
A problem with such devices is that when a reading unit that reads the MICR information magnetically and a reading unit that reads the MICR information optically are both disposed in a single device, the time required to process one piece of recording medium, such as one check, is increased because the recording medium must be conveyed to both reading units. In addition, when the transportation path is configured so that two reading units are collocated in order to shorten the processing time, the number of times the MICR information is read magnetically and the number of times the MICR information is read optically cannot be changed independently of the other. Additionally, checks that have been printed after reading the MICR information succeeds may be difficult to read optically again. Adapting such devices for use with recording media other than single forms such as checks, such as a bound recording media, may also be difficult.